Former Principal Scientific Advisor K. VijayRaghavan to chair Ashoka University’s Science Advisory Council

Ashoka University today announced the setting up of a Science Advisory Council, chaired by Professor K. VijayRaghavan, Former Principal Scientific Advisor to the Government of India. The Council will advise the Vice-Chancellor on enhancing research, teaching and training in the Natural Sciences, Computer Science and Mathematics. The objective of this initiative is to build Ashoka University into a hub of high-quality scientific research and help stimulate research across India, addressing important problems that face the world today.

As Ashoka’s strong research and teaching programmes in the Natural Sciences, Computer Science and Mathematics develop, the university will also develop a meetings and workshop centre to bring in the best academics from India and abroad to conduct experimental and lecture workshops in diverse specialised subjects. These will be attended by students and researchers from all over India, particularly from universities and colleges where the research ecosystem needs strengthening. The Science Council will also help host Summer ‘Genius’ Programmes across the discipline of sciences for talented young students. With these and other related efforts, Ashoka hopes to assist in broadening the footprint of excellence in the sciences in India by democratising access and opportunities for students, while strengthening its contributions to the country and the world through original research.

The Council will also help build collaborations and forge partnerships with research institutions in order to raise resources to further enhance research capacity. Apart from this, the members of the Council will advise the Vice-Chancellor on building innovative post-graduate programmes that can make an impact on society and nurture scholars in the field. 

Founding members of the Council include Rajesh Gopakumar, Senior Professor and Director, ICTS-TIFR Bangalore; Yamuna Krishnan, Professor of Chemistry at the University of Chicago; Priyamvada Natarajan, Professor of Astronomy & Physics at Yale University; and Somak Raychaudhury, Director, IUCAA, Pune. Membership of the Council is honorary. Ashoka University is also bringing in top senior, junior and non-resident faculty, visiting professors and research scholars from all across India and abroad. 

On setting up the council, Professor Malabika Sarkar, Vice-Chancellor at Ashoka University, said “We are delighted to announce the setting up of our own Science Advisory Council that will play a strategic role in taking our ambitious Sciences programme to the next level, strengthening international interdisciplinary collaborations and pursuing important areas of scientific inquiry.”

Professor K VijayRaghavan, Former Principal Scientific Advisor to the Government of India, who will be heading the Council, said “It gives me immense pleasure to take on this role at Ashoka University, which has been making significant strides into various areas of cutting-edge research, aimed at solving some of the most important scientific issues of our time. The Council will play a very important role in guiding Ashoka University’s research and development agenda as it enters the next phase of its evolution as a world-class interdisciplinary institution.”